How to set up an "OASIS"

1. Escape to a safe place after being
chemically exposed and thereby relieve symptoms without the use of
aspirin or drugs.

2. Sleep at night in a safe place away from
chemicals indoors or out. Eat in, if necessary - away from
chemicals. If seriously affected - to stay in day and night with
brief periods outside longer and longer as symptoms improve.

3. To recover from chemical susceptibility.
The time spent in the oasis is "rest time" the body has away from
chemical exposures thereby allowing the immune system to recover
from the sensitivity.

HOW TO SET UP AN "OASIS": Ideally, an
oasis preferably a bedroom and bath combination should be set up in
the home. Or one room where a door can be kept closed and if
necessary a towel placed at the threshold to keep out noxious fumes
such as natural gas or formaldehyde. Important Note: If there is a
smoker in the house, ask them to smoke outside of the house. A smoke
laden house should be aired repeatedly to clear the whole house of
the fumes. In fact when the smoker returns, there may be enough
toxic fumes in their clothing to cause a reaction to a susceptable
person. Have someone other than the patient clean the oasis room and
set it up. Remove all furniture and drapes and clothes from the
room.

2. If there is a plywood floor underneath,
cover it with a barrier cloth or mylar "space blanket" as plywood is
glued together with resins made with petrochemicals. Ceramic tile is
best, if grout is old. If it is vinyl, cover it with barrier cloth
unless it is old and odors are gassed off.

3. Wash floors with Borax or baking soda and
water.

4. Cover vents for hot air heating system
with aluminum foil or Mylar and taped with aluminum or masking tape.

5. Cover floor with cotton rugs or cotton
sheets or towels.

WALLS:

1. DO NOT REPAINT NOW!

2. Wash down the walls with Borax or baking
soda and water.

3. If the room has vinyl wall paper or
adhesives containing insecticides, consider another room for an
oasis.

4. Bare unsealed pine surfaces should be
covered with barrier cloth or consider another room if fumes are too
strong and fresh.

5. If oasis is a bedroom - empty clothes from
clothes closet (store only clean cotton clothes if necessary). (No
wool dry cleaned, as these are cleaned in a formaldehyde cleaning
solution which lingers). No polyesters or Polyester blends. Patient
should wear only cotton, or material tested "safe" if cotton is not
tolerated.

6. Curtains should be cotton only. A cotton
sheet can be used if necessary.

WHAT TO PUT IN THE "OASIS"

1. The filter - This is the most important
item in the oasis. It should be turned on and left on constantly and
the door closed to the oasis. The filter should be a high quality
HEPA filter for small particles, with a separate carbon activated
charcoal filter for the chemicals.

2. The bed - The mattress, pillow and box
springs should not contain sponge rubber, urethane foam or synthetic
fabrics. Some mattress coverings have odors from the dyes of their
prints. The best is a 100% cotton mattress (several are available,
see below). The bed frame should be all metal or wood, cleaned with
Borax or baking soda, or the mattress can be placed directly on the
floor. Alternatives are enclosing the mattress and box springs with
aluminum sheets, or mylar (space blanket) sealed at the seams with
masking tape. Blankets and sheets should be 100% cotton materials
which have not been "drip dry" or "permanent press" treated. Exclude
the use of synthetic fabrics. Dacron (polyester) are especially
hazardous. Pillows should be 100% cotton or composed of several
folded cotton towels in a pillow case, or freshly laundered feather
pillows may be tolerated (unless allergic to feathers).

3. Table and/or desk - Should be of glass,
and/or metal or solid wood, not chipboard.

4. Chair - Should be of wood. If not
possible, the vinyl area should be covered with a barrier cloth and
sealed.

5. Lamps - No plastic shades that will heat
up and give off odors. Clean with Borax or baking soda.

6. Clock - Should be hard plastic. Keep at
opposite end of room, away from bed, and if it is lighted, keep it
out of line of sight while sleeping.

7. Radio and TV - LCD display preferred,
older 'thick" screen TV's are high in amounts of electro-magnetic
fields. If possible, remove from oasis when not in use.

8. Telephone - Cell phones and wireless
phones give off electro-magnetic fields, and should never be placed
next to your ear. Use speakerphone, or a wired headset. Turn off the
phone when not in use. As for older wired phones, it may help to
cover plastic mouthpiece with aluminum foil or cotton. an older
phone that has had time to "gas out" is better, and hard plastic is
better than soft plastic. A good quality speaker phone may help
prevent symptoms by keeping a distance between patient and phone.

9. Heaters - Heating in the oasis should be
provided by radiant electric heaters, (use fan only if tolerated,
because of the lubricating oil used in the motor) or by means of
forced hot water heat. No electric element heaters or forced hot
air.

10. Keep NO cosmetics, perfumes, after shave
lotions, scented powders, other toiletries, potpourri, or plants in
the oasis.

HELPFUL HINTS By staying in the "filtered oasis"
for a length of time, it is not unusual to become acutely aware of
noxious fumes. As the patient comes away from the oasis after
several days or nights and comes in contact with certain chemicals,
it will stimulate a response such as:

1. the smelling of strong noxious fumes that
are not smelled in the oasis; and

2. a return of their symptoms immediately or
delayed, depending on the patient. As time goes by, the patient will
notice that the symptoms experienced are relieved more rapidly than
before, after returning to the oasis. This is a good sign indicating
the immune system is rebuilding itself. Try to keep the oasis as
sparsely furnished as possible, being careful not to bring in new
items without testing first. Allergic to book inks or newsprint? Put
the book or newspaper into a cellophane bag and read. Also specially
constructed book reading boxes are available. Dust papers & books
with baking sodas to gas off fumes. Kindle or I-Pad or Laptop can be
substituted if tolerated. Keep wireless connections to a minimum and
turn off when not in use. If available, use a wired internet
connection to reduce electro-magnetic fields. If printing from your
Laptop in the oasis – keep the printer in a separate room. Be
careful not to start to accumulate books, papers and newspapers in
the oasis. These items give off fumes especially copied papers and
newspapers. If there is a smoker in the family or a guest, ask that
they smoke outdoors, out of the house. Ask family members not to use
scented laundry detergent, hair spray, deodorant sprays, etc. If
member of family fouls the house with work clothes such as
mechanics, farmers, printers, painters, artists, etc., wash clothes
immediately and clean up and air out the house. keep them out of
oasis.

OTHER PORTIONS OF THE HOUSE - OUTSIDE THE "OASIS"

1. Remove highly odorous materials such as
chlorine-containing bleaches and cleansers, ammonia, detergents,
disinfectants, solvents including dry cleaning materials and lighter
fluids and any open bottles or cans containing paint, varnish;
turpentine or mineral spirits. These are commonly, but should not
be, kept in places such as under the sink in the kitchen, bathroom
and laundry or utility room.

2. Keep door closed to garage, if attached,
and try to open only when absolutely necessary - go in and out
through the large garage door.

3. If person is susceptible to propane or
natural gas and the fumes are strong in the kitchen and not in the
oasis - consider turning off the gas to the stove completely - for a
week and then turn it back on again, (remember to light pilot lights
if any),.observing closely for symptoms. If greatly improved during
its absence, definitely make plans to replace with electric. The
same for the gas drier. This also applies to a gas furnace or
boiler.

4. Other suspect odorous antigens in the
house may includes pesticide residues, sponge rubber upholstery and
rug pads, Synthetic upholstery curtains and rugs, solvents and many
other odorous supplies or cosmetics, nail polish and nail polish
removers.

5. If symptoms return whenever out of oasis
and family has a dog or cat - suspect cat or dog danders as possible
cause of symptoms.

6. Basements usually have high humidity. Keep
a dehumidifier on and check for any musty smell or mold problems.
Keep the basement door closed.

TREATMENT: As the home exposures are isolated,
one by one, avoid them or get rid of them from the house wherever
possible. If an item is suspect, such as carpeting, put a fair
amount of the item in a closed room for one week, free of other
fumes, then have the person sit in the room for up to 30 minutes and
test for symptoms. Once a relatively symptom free base line is
reached for the other portions of the home as well as the oasis - an
"ecologically safe" home is achieved. When using this information,
remember no product is safe for everyone. Each product should be
tested first. These are simply suggestions not guarantees.

WHERE TO BUY NECESSARY ITEMS FOR THE CHEMICALLY SENSITIVE
PATIENT: An excellent resource book for Chemically sensitive
patients is: "The Healthy Household" by Lynn Marie Bower, published
in 1995 by The Healthy House Institute This book is available
through AMAZON.COM
AMAZON.COM